Why is January 1st called "New Year's Day"?

The origin of New Year's Day

"Yuan" means the beginning, and "Dan" refers to the time of dawn, and also refers to the day. New Year's Day is the first day of the year. The word "New Year's Day" first came from the poem "Jie Ya" by Xiao Ziyun of the Southern Dynasty: "The four qi are new to the New Year's Day, and Wanshou is the beginning of this dynasty." The "First Month" entry in Volume 1 of Wu Zimu's "Meng Liang Lu" in the Song Dynasty: "The first day of the first lunar month is called New Year's Day. It is commonly called the New Year. This is the first of the year-old festivals; it is called "Yuan Zheng" in Cui Yuan's "San Zi Chai Ming" in the Han Dynasty; it is called "Yuan Chen" in "Yangdu Fu" by Yu Chan in the Jin Dynasty. In the Northern Qi Dynasty, it was called "Yuan Chun" in an article called "Xia Ci of the Yuan Hui Da Xiang Ge Huang"; in the poem "Yuan Day, the emperor retired from the court to watch the army and return to camp" written by Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty, it was called "Yuan Shuo". Traditionally, New Year's Day refers to the first day of the first lunar month of the lunar calendar. There are different names in various Chinese dialects, some are called "New Year's Day", some are called "Datian New Year's Day", some are called "New Year's Day", and generally they are called "New Year's Day".

The month and day of New Year’s Day in our country are not consistent in the past dynasties. In the Xia Dynasty, it was on the first day of the first lunar month, in the Shang Dynasty, it was on the first day of the twelfth lunar month, and in the Zhou Dynasty, it was the first day of the eleventh lunar month. After Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, he designated the first day of the lunar month as New Year's Day, and it has remained unchanged since then ("Historical Records"). In the first year of Emperor Taichu of the Han Dynasty, Sima Qian created the "Taichu Calendar", and then the first day of the first lunar month was designated as New Year's Day, which was the same as the Xia Dynasty regulations, so it was also called the "Xia Calendar", which was used until the Revolution of 1911. After the founding of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen, in order to "run the summer season", followed the agricultural season; according to the Western calendar, he designated the first day of the first lunar month (New Year's Day) as the Spring Festival, and January 1 in the Western calendar as the New Year.

In modern times, New Year's Day refers to the first day of the year in the Christian era. Since the introduction of the Western calendar into our country, the term New Year's Day has been exclusively used for the New Year. The traditional Lunar New Year was called the Spring Festival.

Before that, New Year's Day was used. It always refers to the first day of the lunar calendar. Yuan means "beginning" and "beginning", and dan refers to "day". New Year's Day collectively refers to the "initial day", which is the first day of the year.

On September 27, 1949, the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference resolved: "The Chinese People's Liberation Army and the People's Republic of China adopt the AD calendar method", which is what we call the Gregorian calendar. In order to distinguish the lunar calendar and the two new years of the Gregorian calendar, and since the "beginning of spring" in the 24 solar terms of the lunar calendar happens to be before and after the lunar new year, the first day of the first lunar month was renamed the "Spring Festival", and the first day of the first lunar month was designated as "New Year's Day". , New Year's Day has become a happy holiday for people across the country.

Celebrating the beginning of the New Year can be said to be a common custom in all regions of the world.

In our country, it is also included in the legal system. Holidays. Our country and most countries and regions in the world adopt the Gregorian calendar and designate January 1st as the beginning of the new year, which is called "New Year's Day".

Due to the different longitude locations of various countries in the world, The time of each country is also different, so the date of "New Year's Day" is also different. For example, the island country of Tonga in Oceania is located on the west side of the date line. It is the first place in the world to celebrate New Year's Day. Western Samoa, on the east side of the date line, is the latest place in the world to start a new day. According to the Gregorian calendar, our country is the 12th country in the world to start the New Year.

New Year’s Day celebrations in various countries around the world. :

Thailand's traditional New Year, the "Songkran Festival" ("Songkran" is the transliteration of Sanskrit), also called the "Water Splashing Festival", is a festival from April 13th to 16th every year in the Gregorian calendar. Here, people carry or carry huge Buddha statues in vehicles. The Buddha statues are followed by floats. On the floats stand the "Songqian Goddess" with make-up, and groups of young men and women wearing colorful ethnic costumes. They wore costumes, beat long drums, sang and danced on both sides of the road where the procession passed, and filled the silver bowls with water soaked in bay leaves and soaked with spices, and poured it on the Buddha statues and "Songgan Goddess". , praying for good luck and good weather in the New Year, then people sprinkle water on each other, happily wishing their elders health and longevity, and wishing their relatives and friends a happy New Year. Unmarried young men and women use water to express their love for each other on the first day of the New Year. Put a basin of water on the window sill or at the door, and every household will go to the river in the suburbs for a New Year bath. To celebrate the New Year, Thai people hold a large-scale "elephant competition", which includes: human-elephant tug-of-war, elephant jumping to pick up things, and elephants. The cross body, elephant football game, ancient elephant array performance, etc. are very exciting.

Japanese people pay special attention to the New Year, and December 29th to January 3rd is a national holiday. The Japanese call December 31st the "big dark day", which is also New Year's Eve. On New Year's Eve, the Japanese call it "New Year's Eve". On New Year's Eve, they pray to the gods for blessings, bid farewell to the troubled old year, and usher in a beautiful new year, which is called "Hatsuachi". At midnight on New Year's Eve, temples in urban and rural areas ring their bells 108 times to drive away evil. The Japanese sit quietly and listen to the "New Year's Eve Bell". The silence of the bell means the arrival of the New Year. People then left their seats and went to bed, hoping for a good dream. On the morning of New Year's Day, family members sit together and tell each other about the dreams they had on New Year's Eve to gauge good or bad luck. The Japanese call the first day of New Year's Day "the first day of the year". The 1st to 3rd are the "Three Happy Days". On the official day, the younger generation must first go to their parents to pay New Year greetings, and then go to the homes of relatives and friends to pay New Year greetings. The New Year is also an "eating" festival, and people of all countries eat their own national food. Food to pray for good luck. On the "Sunday" day, Japanese people have a rich breakfast, eating sugar rice, soba noodles, etc., and drinking Tusu wine.

After that, for three consecutive days, those who eat vegetarian food show their piety and pray for good luck in the coming year. Nowadays, most urbanites in Japan have given up on the traditional vegetarian diet during the New Year and instead eat a meal of hollow noodles on New Year's Eve to wish for health and longevity in the new year.

Egypt Egypt is an ancient civilization. In 40 BC, the Egyptians were able to observe the stars. They discovered that Sirius and the sun rose together, and the Nile River immediately rose. Egypt regards the day when the Nile River floods as the beginning of the New Year, which is called "High Flood New Year". The Kroot people of Egypt welcome the New Year by placing a table at the door with seven or eight plates containing grains of soybeans, lentils, alfalfa and wheat, as well as many small buds of green plants, which symbolizes abundance. The more you give to God, the greater your harvest will be in the new year. The Egyptian New Year is in autumn, because Egyptian agricultural production begins in autumn.

India India celebrates the first five days of the New Year from October 31st every year, and the fourth day is New Year's Day. On the first day of the new year, no one is allowed to be angry with others, let alone lose their temper. In some areas of India, on the morning of New Year's Day, every household cries constantly, with tears streaming down everyone's face. They say that time is fleeting and life is short, so crying to welcome the New Year is a lament for life. In some areas, people fast for a day and night to welcome the new year, starting from the early morning of New Year's Day until midnight. Because of this weird custom, New Year's Day in India is known as "New Year's Day of crying" and "New Year's Day of fasting". In the five days before the Chinese New Year, Indians will perform the Indian epic "Ramayana" (meaning the procession of Rama) in various places. They will play the heroes in the epic and "fight" against the paper giants. The "heroes" will light fires. With arrows, the paper giant was set on fire amidst the cheers of the audience. Before New Year's Eve, various exquisite pictures were posted in front of every house. On the morning of New Year's Day, people carry exquisite small lamps and red packets and go out to pay New Year greetings to the elderly, relatives and friends. After meeting and congratulating each other, they would apply red powder on each other's foreheads to express good luck and good luck. Young people put red ink into water guns and shoot it on relatives and friends, which is called "sprinkling red", which means good luck and good luck. Indian youths like to meet and fight with each other during the New Year regardless of whether they are familiar with it or not. Onlookers cheer and cheer, and they often become the targets of girls' pursuit. To celebrate the New Year, the Boshila people, an indigenous people in central India, erected a sleek and thick wooden pole in the playground. There was a small bag containing gifts on the top of the pole. The girls held the bamboo pole and tried their best to stop the young man climbing up the pole. The boys and girls formed a circle under the pole, trying to defend themselves against the girls' attacks on the pole climber until the pole climber captured the pouch and won.

North Korea, like us in China, also has the custom of putting up window grilles and peach charms during the New Year. During the New Year, North Koreans post couplets and New Year pictures on every household. Some people put pictures of longevity stars or fairies on their doors to pray for God's blessing, drive away ghosts, and bring happiness. At the dawn of New Year's Day, people stuff some banknotes into the scarecrows pre-tied on New Year's Eve and throw them at the crossroads to express sending away evil and welcoming auspicious stars. At dusk, people burn off the hair that the family has lost throughout the year, wishing their families peace all year round. During the Spring Festival, North Korean women dress up. On New Year's Day, girls wear hemp hats called "Fujin" and patterned five-color clothes for swing competitions. They target a tree flower and see who can kick or bite it first to win. There are also those who hang bronze bells at high places, and the one who rings the bell first is the winner. During the New Year, in addition to enjoying fine wine and delicacies, North Koreans must also make a sweet rice made of glutinous rice, pine nuts, chestnut powder, date paste and honey, which is similar to our country's eight-treasure rice. Prosperous days are as sweet as honey.

Singaporeans get up early on New Year’s Day and happily receive “red envelopes” (new year’s money) from their elders. During the New Year, a lion dance and dragon dance team formed by a club performed along the street. Men, women, old and children dress up in costumes and bring gifts to visit relatives and friends. During the Chinese New Year, people love to eat sweet rice cakes made of fried glutinous rice and brown sugar.

UK In the UK, although New Year's Day in the Gregorian calendar is not as grand as Christmas, various celebration activities are still carried out according to local customs on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to show off the old and welcome the new. British people often bring cakes and wine to visit late at night on New Year's Eve. They go straight into the homes of relatives and friends without knocking on the door. According to British custom, the person who takes the first step into the house after a thousand nights on New Year's Eve heralds luck in the new year. If the first guest is a dark-haired man, or a happy, happy and wealthy person, the host will have good luck throughout the year. If the first guest is a woman with fair hair, or a sad, poor, or unfortunate person, the host will have bad luck and encounter difficulties and disasters in the new year. People who are guests at the homes of relatives and friends on New Year's Eve should first stir the fire in the fireplace and wish the host "good luck" before talking to each other. Most British New Year celebrations are held on New Year's Eve, and the "New Year's Eve" is one of them. This kind of banquet is divided into two types: "family banquet" and "group banquet". The banquet usually starts at 8 pm on New Year's Eve and ends in the early morning of New Year's Day. Finish. A variety of fine wines, delicacies and snacks were prepared at the banquet for people to drink to their heart's content all night long. At midnight, people turn on the radio and listen to the New Year's bell of the church bell. When the bell rings, people are full of joy, toast, cheer and sing "Daylight of the Past". The "New Year's Eve Ball" is another kind of celebration. Night falls by local hotels and dance parties.

People dressed in festive costumes came from all directions to these newly decorated dance halls with bright lights, dancing to the wonderful music. Thousands of people also gathered in various squares, surrounding the fountains and fountains in the center of the square. Los Elephants, singing, dancing, and enjoying the carnival. The TV station is also broadcasting live in the square, so that people who are "watching the New Year" here can also enjoy the fun.

Germany The German New Year is celebrated for a week before and after. During this period, every household must place a fir tree or a horizontal tree with silk flowers tied between the leaves, which means that the world is full of flowers and spring. At midnight on New Year's Eve, just before the New Year arrives, Germans climb on chairs. When the bell rings, they jump off the chair and throw a heavy object behind the chair to show that they are throwing away the trouble and jumping into the New Year. The children formed a band, put on new clothes, held harmonicas and accordions, and lined up to play in the streets. Adults hold colorful flags and follow behind, shouting and singing to celebrate the New Year. German women perform impromptu comedy sketches on family themes during the New Year. There is a New Year custom circulating in rural areas of Germany - the "Tree Climbing Competition". Young men compete to climb higher along a bare tree. The first place is hailed as the "New Year Hero" to show that they are rising higher and higher.

Iran Iran follows the Islamic calendar, and its seasons and months are not fixed. In Iran, celebrating the New Year means celebrating the arrival of spring, usually in late March of the Gregorian calendar. The New Year is celebrated grandly for a week. People flock to the streets to light "bonfires" - "night fires", and then the whole family jumps on the night fire in turn. Jumping back and forth means burning away "bad luck", ushering in light, driving away evil spirits and eliminating diseases, and lasting happiness. There are "seven dishes" to be eaten on New Year's Eve, and the name of each dish must start with the letter "S" to show good luck. From the first to the third day of the lunar month, people visit relatives and friends and wish each other a happy Spring Festival. On the last day of the new year, the whole family goes on an outing to avoid evil.

France celebrates the New Year with wine. People start partying and drinking from New Year’s Eve until January 3. The French believe that the weather on New Year's Day heralds the coming of the new year. In the early morning of New Year's Day, they go to the streets to check the direction of the wind and predict fortunes: if the south wind blows, it indicates good weather and the year will be safe and hot; if the west wind blows, there will be a good harvest for fishing and milking; if the east wind blows, there will be a high yield of fruits; if the north wind blows, it will be a good year. If the wind is strong, it will be a bad harvest year.